Westra now carries the hopes of Vacansoleil-DCM.
Any hopes that Thomas De Gendt (Vacansoleil-DCM) might have had for a strong GC performance at Paris-Nice were ruined on Wednesday as he crash on the descent of the Côte de Mauvagnat towards the end of Stage 3.
De Gendt crossed the finish line 5:29 behind stage winner Andrew Talansky (Garmin Sharp) and is at 5:34 in the overall standings.
"We pretty much had the most dangerous part of the descent behind us," he told Sporza, before explaining that when the rider in front of him crashed, he no chance of avoiding him and a collision was inevitable.
"I had a lot of pain in my shoulder and neck, but there is nothing broken," De Gendt continued. "I also got hit on my hip. I will see whether that will affect my legs or if I suffer on the bike tomorrow."
With seven climbs ahead on Stage 4, De Gendt said that he will get an early indication as to the implication of the crash for the rest Paris-Nice.
While the 26-year-old's impediment has ruled him out of GC contention, he remains buoyant that he will be able to try his luck in a breakaway during the coming stages.
"If a breakaway fails tomorrow, I can try again Friday or Saturday," he said. "And for the rest I want to help my teammate [Lieuwe] Westra."
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